


Awakening

by TrashFerret



Category: Dragon Quest Builders (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Betrayal, Canon Rewrite, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fantasy, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Minor Character Death, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-09-30 15:20:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20449265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashFerret/pseuds/TrashFerret
Summary: ***DQB2, but as a fantasy novel***The world has fallen. Alefgard has been plunged into darkness. It has been nearly two centuries since the Sphere of Light was destroyed by High Priest Hargon and his church of demon worshippers. The sun lies dormant behind an eternal shroud of mist. Demons stalk the night and feed upon the living. Humanity has learned to adapt and survive in fortified cities, but they do not thrive. The use of magic and magitech has been outlawed under punishment of death, as has the worship of Rubiss, Goddess of Light and Creation.Small pockets of organised resistance remain. Among their secretive order are the Builders—those trained in the forgotten magic and technologies that once served humanity. They work so that Alefgard may be free of Hargon, and the sun rise in a clear sky once again.Kestrel is an apprentice Builder. She was learning to use the old magitech when her underground school was discovered and raided by the Children. Dragged away from her mentors and fellow students, she found herself on a slave ship. That is, until the storm hit...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! My fanfic is an AU rewrite of DQB2, where the video game elements have been removed for more of a fantasy novel narrative. While DQB2 is at its heart a carefree, fun game about building stuff with blocks, it had some surprisingly mature and gripping story beats. I wanted to see what would happen if I placed those same story beats into a more mature fantasy setting. I've even retained some of the original dialogue.  
You can expect slow burn romance, lots of self-indulgent Malroth fan service, action packed sword fights, and plenty of angst (Moonbrooke, amirite?).  
If you're wondering whether there will be sexually explicit content, the answer is: probably. I've really been wanting to try out writing adult content for a while now. We'll have to see whether I chicken out or not. :p
> 
> This is my first ever fanfic, so apologies if I'm missing tags. I'll be sure to add any I've forgotten.
> 
> If you enjoy my story, please consider leaving a friendly comment. It helps motivate me and lets me know I done good. :)
> 
> A/N: This first chapter is very introspective as I felt I had to establish some character motivations. Expect more action in Chapter II!

**Chapter I**

Kestrel woke up to a face full of sand. Cold, damp sand. Coughing and spluttering, and spitting clumps of dirt from her mouth, she rolled onto her back. She lay prone for what felt like a small eternity, just focusing on the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, her whole body aching. It was about as much as she could muster right now.

Thoughts began to return to her slowly, tentatively: she remembered the slave ship and the storm, the waves so high they looked like they might swallow the moon. She remembered drifting in the cold and dark for hours. And then, with a sudden jolt, she remembered the strong arms dragging her out of the water.

As if summoned, crunching footsteps entered her awareness. She was not alone.

Hastily she pushed herself onto her elbows, groaning at the effort, and wiped salt and sand from her eyes with a hectic hand to find a human shape looming over her in the dark. It was standing still, watching her.

“Finally, a live one...” an unfamiliar voice muttered. “Relax, I'm not going to hurt you.”

She realised she had raised a defensive hand and lowered it slowly. The voice, undeniably male, continued talking.

“This whole place is deserted. I've had a look around, but there's nothing here. You wouldn't happen to know how we got here, would you?”

A strange question. No introduction, no enquiry whether she was alright. Kestrel just stared, her voice still lost out at sea somewhere.

“Fine,” the man said with a sigh. “Stay here.” And with that he was gone again, disappearing into the darkness and leaving her alone with her spinning thoughts.

Her head began to clear after a while, or perhaps self-preservation finally kicked in. Sitting up fully, she sluggishly traced a small spell circle into the sand. The air above the glyphs shivered for a second, then burst into silent flame, white tongues of fire licking at the sky. She leaned forward, hungrily drinking in their warmth, not caring if anyone was around to see. Forbidden magic was the least of her worries right now.

The man returned not long after. He cast her fire a curious glance as he sat down beside it, but did not comment. Kestrel had had time to sort through her thoughts.

“There was a storm. We were shipwrecked,” she said just as he opened his mouth, cutting off whatever he was about to say. “You asked earlier how we got here.”

“That would explain some things, I suppose,” the stranger remarked after a short pause, leaning back in the sand before adding, “Huh, guess you can talk after all.”

Kestrel narrowed her eyes, seeing him for the first time now that he was in the glow of her fire. He did not look like one of the other prisoners—his clothes were too expensive and well-kept for that, despite their rather...thuggish style. Nor did he look like one of the Children's soldiers. His hair was too long, and he was not in uniform. She was about to peg him as an eccentric nobleman travelling with the slave ship when he glanced over at her, and his eyes caught the light of the fire.

_Red_.

Red eyes...

She quickly dropped her gaze to the ground, pretending not to have seen, though not before noticing the unmistakable point to his ears.

_Demon!_

The thought shot through her like ice, freezing her in place. Her mind raced.

“I don't remember seeing you on board the ship...” she said slowly, buying time. If he was a demon, she was as good as dead. In fact, he would have killed her already. But if not a demon, then...?

She chanced another glance, trying to remember everything she knew about Hargon's servants, both human and demonic. The stranger just frowned at her question, seemingly unaware of what was going on inside her head.

“I don't remember anything. I have no idea how I got here or where I was going. But I must have been on the ship with you, right? That's the only thing that makes sense. Maybe I hit my head in the wreck.”

As he talked, Kestrel began to surreptitiously trace demon warding glyphs into the sand around her. She was starting to suspect that he was a summoner. She had learned that veteran demon summoners took on the physical traits of their hell spawn servants over time, their appearance turning more and more grotesque until their bodies succumbed to the strain, resulting in a grisly death.

Whatever he was, she did not trust a single word that came out of his mouth. It was obvious he was a follower of Hargon, and fake memory loss or not, he had seen her use Builder magic. He did not notice what she was doing and kept prattling on.

“I'm sure my memories will return soon enough. And there must be some way off this island or wherever we've landed. We can try to find it together in the morning.”

He glanced at her again, as if waiting for her to say something, _anything_. When nothing was forthcoming he grumbled something under his breath and fell silent, staring at the fire. It was almost as if he was desperate to have someone to talk to.

_Well, I suppose being shipwrecked would be traumatic for anyone, including whatever the hell he is._

The stranger left her alone after that, so Kestrel curled up on her side. She would wait until he was asleep, then sneak away and put as much distance between herself and the talkative demon minion as possible.

There was just one major flaw to her plan: the moment she lay down, she was reminded how exhausted and weak she was. Her eyes had already fallen shut against her will when his voice wormed its way back into her ears.

“Hey, my name is Malroth by the way. I'm glad I'm not alone on this stupid rock.”

“Kestrel,” she said reluctantly.

“What, like the small bird?”

“Like the bird of _prey_,” she muttered, trying and failing to sound fierce as sleep crept into her voice. She heard a snort, almost like a suppressed laugh, before she was pulled under.

***

Kestrel was woken by a hand on her shoulder this time, shaking her none too gently. She opened her eyes to see the stranger, Malroth, down on one knee trying to get her attention. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, trapped behind its permanent shroud of grey mist, it was early morning.

“What?” she asked groggily, inwardly cursing her own exhaustion. So much for waiting for him to fall asleep and sneaking away.

“I found something I figured you'd want to see.” Finally ceasing his bone-rattling shaking of her shoulder, he handed her something. “You look hungry.”

Kestrel sat up and admired the shiny red apple in her hands with astonishment. “Where did you—“ she started, before noticing the large wooden crate standing beside him. Rubiss knew how he had lugged that heavy looking thing here without waking her.

“I knew you'd like it,” he said with a smug grin. Kestrel had no idea why this demon minion was trying so hard to impress instead of kill her, but she gratefully ate the apple, followed by several more from the crate.

“I found more of the shipwreck washed up further along the beach last night. There are more crates like this. And the best part: several dead bodies too. It's pretty gruesome. Do you want to see?”

She nearly choked on her apple. He sounded excited, gleeful even.

“What's the matter? You're not squeamish, are you?”

“_Squeamish_?” she repeated incredulously. Then it dawned on her, slowly, painfully. She was being toyed with. Malroth crossed his arms and regarded her curiously.

“So you don't want to see? I promise you won't be disappointed.”

Kestrel dropped the apple with disgust and stood, brushing the sand from her clothes. A pit had opened in her stomach. The Children of Hargon did not just kill—they liked to string their victims along. Wherever this was leading, it was not going to be good. Likely her companions were among the dead, and he wanted her to see them before meeting the same fate. She cursed herself for her stupidity—letting her guard down for even an instant had been foolish. Anger bubbled up inside her. She refused to meet her end with fear in her heart.

“Fine, show me,” she said between gritted teeth, steeling herself for whatever was about to come.

***

The corpses were sprawled out between large pieces of driftwood and rigging, and the occasional intact crate. It seemed most of the debris from the shipwreck that had made it far enough had washed up here. Kestrel moved between the bodies, blessing each with the mark of Rubiss on their forehead. She did not care if Malroth was watching her—at this point it would not make any difference to whatever he was planning to do with her. Let this be her last stubborn act of defiance.

To her unending relief, her companions were not among the dead. However, the deceased were not complete strangers to her either: she recognised them as other prisoners from the slave ship. She felt guilty that she had neither the tools nor the energy to give them a proper burial. She was with the last of the bodies when she heard a sudden shout from Malroth.

“Hey, there's another one over here! I think she's alive!”

He lifted a pile of driftwood, revealing a young red-headed woman lying in a crumbled heap. Kestrel kneeled in the sand next to her, checking for a pulse. It was there, but faint.

“She looks like she's in a pretty bad way,” Malroth said, nodding at the gaping wound in her side. “We should do the right thing and put her out of her misery.”

“What? No!” Kestrel interjected loudly, before remembering the delicate situation she was in. She lowered her head and shot him a careful glance, half expecting to see a knife heading for her gut. “If you move this debris out of the way, I can help her.”

He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, but complied. She swiftly began tracing glyphs into the sand, chanting as she worked, surrounding the young woman with a spell circle. Malroth stood back, watching with interest as it began to glow. The glow grew in intensity, slowly building into a blindingly bright light until the woman was fully enveloped. It only lasted a moment before subsiding again, the unconscious woman still lying at the centre of the circle. The wound in her side was sealed.

“Amazing...” Malroth breathed, lowering his hand from his eyes and leaning in for a closer look. “She's completely healed.”

“Not completely,” Kestrel mumbled distractedly, inspecting the injury. The woman would need a couple days of food and rest, but she would pull through with the right care.

“No really, Kestrel,” he said, grabbing her arm to get her attention. “I assumed you were kind of puny before, but that was amazing. I've never seen anything like it. How did you do it? Can you teach me?”

Kestrel paused and shot him a wary look. She knew all too well that Hargon's followers enjoyed setting their victims up before tearing them down. Well, if she was going to die here and now, she may as well do so bravely. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye.

“I used Builder magic. I'm an apprentice Builder.”

He stared at her blankly a moment. “Huh, never heard of one of them before. Congratulations, I guess.”

An awkward silence stretched between them. Kestrel blinked, dumbfounded. She opened and closed her mouth, uncertain what to say next. Was...was this still part of his ploy? She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat, a new thought entering her mind: just how much of his memory had he lost, exactly?

“Why are you looking at me like I'm about to cut your head off?” he asked, irritation in his voice.

“You... You're not?”

“Why would I do that?” It was his turn to sound confused. “Is this why you've been staring at me with big scared eyes all day? You thought I was going to kill you? Why would I do that after going to the effort of dragging you out of the ocean?” Realising he was still holding on to her arm, he let go suddenly and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“For crying out loud, it all makes sense now! You've been scared of me this whole time! And here I was thinking you were just stupid. I thought I was stuck alone on this deserted island with some gormless idiot.”

“I assumed you were a Child of Hargon!” she snapped, his comments starting to get under her skin.

“I have no idea who that is or what that even means,” he growled.

Their conversation was cut short by a sudden groan. The young woman was slowly coming to, stirring gently. Malroth leaned over her curiously, their argument forgotten for the moment.

“You should stay back,” Kestrel warned, hesitating a moment before pushing him aside. This sudden shift in their power dynamic was disorienting. The woman opened her eyes, blearily scanning her surroundings, stopping when her gaze came to rest on Kestrel.

“Hey there. Don't be alarmed; you're safe,” she said soothingly. “You were one of the prisoners on the ship, right? What's your name?”

“Lulu,” the woman croaked. Malroth suddenly popped up in her field of vision.

“I'm Malroth and this is Kestrel. She saved your life, so you better be grateful!”

Kestrel hissed at him to back off, but it was too late. Lulu's eyes locked on him, slowly widening in horror as she took in his appearance.

“Demon!” she breathed, her voice shaking. Before anyone else could react, she was on all fours and trying to scramble away backwards. “Stay away from me, demon spawn!”

She did not get very far before pain shot through her side and she crumbled back to the ground, whimpering softly.

“Well done,” Kestrel remarked dryly, shooting Malroth an accusatory glance.

They returned to their makeshift camp, Malroth carrying Lulu on his back, which had taken quite a lot of coaxing on Kestrel's part. The young redhead was drifting in and out of consciousness, weakly voicing her objections now and then.

Malroth was still bristling. “She has quite a mouth on her,” he complained angrily. “Why does she keep calling me a demon?”

“Well... Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Malroth shot her an angry glare, so she asked a little more diplomatically, “What, um...are you then?”

“What a stupid question! I'm a—“ He paused. “What are you?”

“...Human...”

“Then I'm a human, same as you. What else would I be?”

Lulu stirred again, mumbling something about demons into Malroth's shoulder. His expression darkened.

“There's only one way to make sure she shuts up for good, you know. Mind if I do the honours?”

“You're very violent for someone who claims to be so innocent. Stop complaining and keep walking.”

When they reached their camp—the word “camp” applying rather loosely in this situation—Malroth dumped Lulu into the sand rather unceremoniously and, upon Kestrel's request, stomped off to salvage any remaining supplies. Kestrel meanwhile helped the young woman find a more comfortable resting position, wishing she could do more to ease her pain. It looked like they would be spending another night on this beach. Rubiss knew how long they could survive out here before they were discovered by the Children or encountered _actual_ demons. Despite Lulu's outbursts to the contrary, Malroth was clearly human in some form or another. He was harmless compared to the twisted creatures that roamed the wilderness at night, feeding on mortal flesh.

“Why does he do what you say?” Lulu suddenly asked, interrupting her stream of thoughts. Kestrel opened and closed her mouth, struggling to find a good answer.

“I'm trying to figure that out myself,” she finally admitted, for she had been wondering the same thing. It felt like he had simply latched on to the first living thing he had found after the shipwreck. Her mentors had always told her that she had a gift for making unlikely friends, but befriending a demon summoner, a Child of Hargon, was a wholly different thing altogether, amnesia or not. Who knew what would happen once his memories started to return, how long it would be before he turned on both of them...

Kestrel was not going to stick around long enough to find out.

**\- End Chapter I -**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

_Apprentice Builder..._

The voice echoed inside Kestrel's head. She was floating in a pool of warm light, surrounded by bright nothingness.

_My child..._

_I have brought you here with the last of my powers..._

_My shroud begins to slip..._

She knew she was dreaming, but this voice... She could feel it reverberating through her entire body. Was this real? She tried to concentrate on what it was saying.

_Go forth and seek out my temple..._

_That which is no longer hidden may be found by the enemy... Long have they searched..._

_You must move swiftly now..._

At the mention of the enemy, her mind's eye was immediately crowded by an image of Malroth—an unspoken question in her thoughts.

_Ah yes, Hargon's Child..._

_Bringing him to you has cost me dearly..._

_Do not squander my gift..._

But she would lead him straight to—

_Thus is my wish..._

_Now, come to me...my child..._

Kestrel woke with a start, sitting up abruptly and panting heavily. It was still nighttime. A crisp chill hung in the air; the sound of waves crashing onto the beach penetrated the silence. Thin tendrils of mist snaked around their camp. Something was pulling at her, crowding her thoughts—a strong compulsion to get up and walk. It blocked out everything else and before she knew it she was on her feet.

On the other side of the fire Malroth stirred, then opened his eyes.

“Hey, where are you going?” he asked, grogginess giving way to alarm as she ignored him and pressed on, leaving their makeshift camp behind. Her steps were being guided by an unseen force, remnants of the voice still echoing inside her head.

“Hey!” Malroth scrambled after her, only to slow and glance back at Lulu. He did not much care for the woman, but Kestrel—who was walking like a woman possessed and showed no signs of slowing—would not want her to be left unguarded. Cursing, he doubled back and threw the sleeping redhead over his shoulder, jogging to catch back up with Kestrel.

“What's gotten into you?” he demanded. “It's not safe to wander around alone at night!”

She stared straight ahead, paying him no heed. In fact, she was paying so little attention to anything around her, she tripped over a large piece of driftwood and would have fallen flat on her face had Malroth not caught and held her up by her arm. He peered at her face carefully, but was only met with a blank expression. She wrenched herself free; not that she needed to—he let go of her readily enough.

“I guess I'll follow you...” he said rather helplessly, “but don't expect me to help you if you walk us straight into a demon nest!”

There was no response—something he was starting to get used to from her. With a deep sigh he resigned himself to following her. It was not like he could restrain her and slap some sense into her... Or could he?

It was not long at all before Kestrel stopped in her tracks, so abruptly Malroth barely avoided crashing into her. She was clutching her head, shaking it.

“Finally waking up?” he asked, but his attention was diverted by the mist. It was moving unnaturally, swirling around them like a fast flowing river. Suddenly something rose out of the fog, and the mist parted before them like a curtain to reveal a huge building—an imposing structure, so vast and startlingly close he could have reached out and touched its walls. Malroth dropped Lulu to the ground in surprise. They had only been walking a minute or two—there was no logical explanation as to how they had missed this this place until now.

Kestrel finally lifted her head and came face to face with the building she had led them to. Its scale was dizzying; it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Twisted turrets grew from it like mushrooms, strange machinery clung to the outer walls like barnacles.

“I searched all over this island last night. I swear there was nothing here before,” Malroth said in a low voice.

“It was hidden...” she whispered, awed. The voice had mentioned something about this, but her head felt all muddled up from her dream. “Rubiss told me about this place and brought me here.”

“Rubiss...?” a strained voice asked. Lulu was awake, pushing herself into a sitting position.

“Who is Rubiss?” Malroth asked, glancing between the two of them.

“The forbidden Goddess...” she said groggily. “But she hasn't spoken to anyone in centuries, not since the Sphere of Light fell. She was thought destroyed... She really spoke to you, Kestrel? What did she say?”

“She told me to find her temple. The rest was... It was incredibly vague. Help me look for the door. There must be one here somewhere...”

***

It did not take them long to find the massive doors to the building, however, they would not budge so much as an inch. Not even the considerable amount of force Malroth levied against them could get them to open. Kestrel, whose head had mostly cleared by now, suspected they were sealed with some kind of mechanism from the inside—this whole place was practically dripping with magitech, which admittedly was more than a little exciting. Who knew what ancient and forgotten technologies were waiting for her on the other side of that door?

Fortunately for them, they soon gained entry via another route: a section of outer wall had crumbled and given way, making it possible for them to climb through. They found themselves inside a vast corridor wide enough to run three horse carriages through side by side. The ceiling was so high it was barely visible in the dark, never mind the other end of the hall.

For a moment they stood together at the entrance, quietly soaking it all in. Then, suddenly, Kestrel made a small, excited sound and dashed off into the shadows, accompanied by a curious Malroth a moment later. Lulu followed a little more warily, eyeing the twisted pipes snaking out of the walls.

“This place gives me the creeps...” she said under her breath, her voice echoing uncomfortably loud in the large space. Reluctantly she joined Kestrel, who was now standing in front of a rectangular indentation in the wall, prying off a metal cover to reveal a complex mess of wires and copper parts underneath.

“I think I know how this works,” the Builder said excitedly after a long moment of studying the mechanical innards of the box. Using a slender finger, she carefully traced the fine line of glyphs chiseled onto a copper plate between the wires. She found a blank space, a gap in the code, and expertly filled it in with a miniscule glyph of her own, burning it into the metal with magic. For a moment nothing happened, but then, just as her companions were turning away to go find something more interesting to look at, the pipes on the walls started vibrating. A quiet hissing sound came from somewhere to the right, like steam escaping from a vent, and light began to flicker overhead. Kestrel laughed triumphantly and replaced the metal cover. With a loud snap that made everyone but her startle, the whole corridor was suddenly flooded with bright light.

“Amazing,” Malroth breathed, impressed yet again by the Builder and her magic, looking up at the fluorescent tubes in the ceiling. A glowing liquid was sluggishly moving through them.

Lulu's eyes, however, were glued to the other end of the long hall, now fully lit.

“Uh, Kestrel? Something appears to be...moving over there,” she said with alarm, grabbing the Builder's arm. Kestrel turned to squint in the direction the redhead was pointing and saw three indistinct shapes.

“What the hell _are _those?” she wondered out loud, watching them come closer. Her skin began to crawl. Whatever they were, they were large and walking on all fours with strange jolting movements that seemed somehow off. One of them lifted its head and let out a loud, eerie bellow.

“I-I think we should go—“ Lulu started to say. Mere seconds later the three creatures broke into a sudden sprint, coming straight for them at breakneck speed.

“Look like they want a fight,” Malroth said calmly, while his companions scrambled over each other in their hurry to get away. He shot Kestrel an expectant look. “You got this?”

“W-What? No! Run!” she spluttered, spinning around to drag Lulu away by the arm. Malroth looked disappointed for a second, then his expression shifted to one of determination.

“Shame, I was hoping to see more Builder magic. Guess I'll take care of this!”

Before she could stop him, he dashed off to intercept the horrible monsters. One of them was close enough now to make out clearly: a monstrous, overgrown dog-like creature with no skin, all teeth and claws, the light reflecting oddly off its—

Kestrel realised with sudden amazement that it was mechanical. She did not have long to admire it, however, as Malroth drew level with it and delivered a crushing blow to the side of its head. It collapsed to the floor in a broken heap. The second mechanical dog snapped at his ankles; he leapt clear of its fangs easily.

Kestrel did not get a chance to see what happened next—the third dog was sprinting around him in a wide arc and bearing down on her. It jumped and she quickly knocked Lulu to the ground. Missing its mark, the dog sailed over their heads, skidding across the floor and spinning around to face them again, metal claws scratching against stone tile. Growling, it advanced on them slowly. Kestrel scrambled to her feet and took a defensive stance in front of Lulu. She did not have a weapon of any kind; she had no idea how she was going to—

The monster leapt. Eyes wide and frozen to the spot, Kestrel could do nothing but watch in horror as it sailed through the air and straight for her face. And then, Malroth was suddenly there, lifting the creature above his head and smashing it to the ground with ferocious force. It burst into a dozen pieces.

For a moment everything was silent and nobody moved. Then, with a great rush of air, Kestrel sat on the floor and let go of a breath she did not realise she had been holding.

“That was close,” she muttered, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks.”

“W-We should go before more of those things show up,” Lulu said shakily, still sprawled out on the floor.

“Oh come now, that wasn't so bad,” Malroth said with a grin. He was looking very pleased with himself as he offered Kestrel a hand to help her back to her feet. “You're not much of a fighter, are you?”

She did not know how to respond. She had been trained in the basics of swordsmanship and archery in her underground school, but unlike Malroth, who could apparently just smash metal monsters to pieces with his bare fists, she was useless without a good weapon.

“Lulu is right, you know,” she said after a moment, “there might be more of them.”

“Don't worry; I've got your back. I may not be a Builder like you, but wanton destruction is sort of my thing. If anything like this comes up again, I'll take care of it, alright?”

Kestrel nodded slowly. She was starting to understand Rubiss' “gift”...

With a sigh, she looked at the broken guard dogs. “I wonder if I could fix them. They're kind of amazing...”

“Why would you even want to do that?!” Lulu demanded angrily.

***

“Fascinating,” Kestrel breathed, scanning the faded and broken glyphs along the walls. Hours had passed, and they were in another part of the vast building. It seemed endless. “These glyphs tell the story of the Temple of Awakening—that must be where we are!”

Lulu crowded closer, despite the weariness in her stance. “That's impossible. It was destroyed and lost to history...”

Kestrel pointed at one of the symbols. “Because Rubiss cast her protective shroud over it. It was merely hidden! And the stories only ever speak of Hargon destroying the Sphere of Light; there is never any mention of the temple.”

Malroth was leaning against a wall and watching their excited discussion with disinterest, stifling a yawn. “Are you two done yet?” he asked, drawing a glare from Lulu.

“We have some private matters to discuss. Go explore the next room or something," she said with a dismissive wave. He shrugged and wandered away. The moment he disappeared from sight, she lowered her voice and whispered, “And you say Rubiss guided you here? Do you even know what you're implying?”

Kestrel nodded, still studying the glyphs on the walls. “I'm an apprentice Builder. I have skills in the forbidden technologies... Skills that might be used to restore this place, or parts of it anyway.” She pointed at one of the faded murals adorning the crumbling walls. A simple rendition of a circle, with smaller lines radiating from it like a sun, rising above what looked like a drawing of the temple.

“You think Rubiss brought you here to...to craft a new _Sphere of Light_?!”

Kestrel's shoulders slumped and she let out a breath of air. “I know, it sounds absurd. I'm just so excited by this place and desperate to find some meaning in—“

Lulu clasped her hands in her own, cutting her off. “No, it doesn't sound absurd! It sounds like hope. It sounds like Rubiss brought us here to accomplish something our Order has been dreaming of for hundreds of years!”

Kestrel opened her mouth, words failing her. Lulu cleared her throat and dropped her hands as if suddenly embarrassed by her own passionate outburst.

“Lulu... I haven't really asked you about yourself yet. You speak of the Order. Who were you, before all this?”

“I was in a school, same as you. No, not the one in Cantlin.” She dropped her gaze to the ground. Kestrel could tell she was trying to put on a brave face—the memory was clearly painful for her. “Go on,” she prompted gently. Lulu took a deep breath.

“I was an apprentice quartermaster. It was my job to look after people and supplies in the school, make sure there were places to sleep, food to eat, weapons... Or at least, I was in training to do these things. I...I don't really want to go into more detail right now.”

Kestrel nodded slowly. The pain of losing her friends and her home was still fresh for her as well. She gripped the woman's shoulders firmly.

“Then you were brought here for a reason as well. Look around—this place is in ruins. It will take more than one lousy apprentice Builder to accomplish such a gargantuan task. If we are to restore the temple and bring back the Sphere of Light, we'll need many others. And not just Builders! And with people comes the need for supplies and somebody who can oversee all of this.”

Lulu smiled, hesitantly at first, before breaking into a full laugh. “Are you appointing me Quartermaster of the _Temple of Awakening_?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” Kestrel said with more confidence than she actually felt. Goddess knew how they were even going to get others here, trapped on this island as they were.

Lulu glanced at the doorway Malroth had disappeared through and dropped her voice to a whisper again. “What of the demon spawn? We shall have to get rid of him.”

“No!” Kestrel blurted out before she could stop herself. “I mean, we mustn't. He's part of this, somehow. Rubiss brought him here to benefit us. She spoke of this to me, albeit vaguely.”

Lulu gave her a long, searching look. “As long as you are sure...”

“I am certain of it.”

She tried to convince herself she was not lying.

\- END CHAPTER II -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!  
Apologies for the massive delay in posting this chapter! I had a bunch of real life stuff crop up and was really struggling with this chapter for some reason. In fact, I was so unhappy with it at one point that I rewrote the whole thing. I'm very keen to move the story along and complete these first few establishing chapters. Thanks for your patience!
> 
> In this chapter we got to see our first few glimpses of Kestrel's technical ability (and learn that she's a bit of a gear head!), and find out what our characters' purpose will be going forward.
> 
> Once again, if you enjoy this story, please consider leaving a comment. It helps motivate me. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

After their discovery of the Temple of Awakening, the group unanimously decided to move into the huge building. Despite its potential traps and guardians, it still provided much better protection from roaming demons and the elements than the beach ever could.

Kestrel learned how to operate the magitech controls to the massive entrance doors and, with Malroth's help, sealed the crumbling hole in the wall with heavy boulders. Rubiss had warned her that the enemy would seek out the temple. She could not be sure how much time they had until they were discovered by Hargon's minions now that the Goddess's protective shroud had been lifted.

They settled in a small series of chambers with heavy stone walls and sturdy doors, and for a couple days they just rested, giving their scrapes and bruises time to heal. Kestrel was buzzing with the thought of what wonders possibly lay around the next corner or down the nearest corridor, but was mindful of Lulu's need to recuperate. The redhead had suffered a pretty serious injury in the shipwreck, and even Builder's healing magic could only do so much.

The chambers they occupied were barren, completely empty save for some faint outlines on the walls where furniture may have once stood, a very long time ago. The three of them were spread out in the same room, surrounded by their crates of supplies salvaged from the shipwreck. They did not have much: some quickly dwindling food stuffs, a barrel of drinking water, a large tangled fishing net they were using as bedding, and a random assortment of ropes and rigging.

They had encountered a few more mechanical guard dogs in their explorations so far, but nothing worse. That being said, they had likely only seen a tiny fraction of what the temple had to offer. At this point in time it seemed like it could house a small town and its entire population—though Kestrel conceded that might just be her unfamiliarity with the building talking.

However restless and eager to explore Kestrel felt, Malroth had it worse. While she was still emotionally and physically exhausted from her ordeal with the slave ship and content enough to catch up on some much needed sleep, he had suffered no such ill effects. And so he alternated between pacing their small set of rooms, occasionally venturing just outside their door, and sitting next to Lulu's sleeping form, staring at her as if to will her better already.

“Malroth, if you want to go scout out the surrounding corridors, I won't stop you...” Kestrel finally said, annoyed by his skulking around. He just shook his head.

“Somebody's got to guard you puny little weaklings while you sleep.”

Kestrel rolled her eyes but spared herself the comment. She thought for a second, then said, “How about I lock the door from the inside? Nothing can get through these walls.”

He took a couple more minutes of convincing, apparently taking his self-appointed role as protector very seriously, but finally agreed. She was glad to be rid of him for a little while—watching him stomp around impatiently was starting to put her on edge.

He returned hours later while she was sleeping, his impatient banging on the door making the whole doorframe shake. “Alright, alright,” Kestrel muttered groggily, taking a couple minutes to roll out of her makeshift bed and turn the key. “Don't bring the whole place down.”

“Come with me!” he said without preamble the moment the door swung open, gripping her above the elbow and pulling her out of the room. Still half-asleep until now, Kestrel snapped to attentiveness.

“Are we under attack?” she asked with concern, wondering what could possibly be so urgent. She was forced to jog to keep up with his pace.

“No, I just want to show you something.”

“Then why—? Wait, slow down. Malroth... Stop!” she finally snapped, digging her heels into the ground. He stopped and turned. Kestrel pointedly looked at her arm until he let go.

“Surely I can put on my shoes first, yes?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off before he could say anything.

“And what about Lulu? Are we just going to leave her here, completely defenceless?” She was using her best no-nonsense voice, the one her mentor had always used on her when bringing her back down to earth. If she was to start trusting this demon sp—Malroth—she would have to begin by setting some healthy boundaries first. She put her hands on her hips and locked eyes with him, trying her best to project authority. “You can't just go dragging me around like that whenever you please, you understand?”

His nostrils flared and for an uncomfortably long moment he just stared back at her. He really did have creepy eyes... She realised that if he turned on her now, she would be completely out of her depth.

His body relaxed and he looked away. “Alright, fine, message received,” he said with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms. “Sheesh, you don't have to get so serious. Go put on your shoes then.” He saw her expression and impatiently added, “Go put on your shoes then, _please_.”

“We still can't leave Lulu. She's fast asleep.”

“It's fine; I'll block the door from the outside.”

“With what? There's nothing to—_Seven bloody hells_, Malroth!” She dodged out of the way as Malroth plucked one of the giant pillars supporting the ceiling straight out of the ground like it was nothing.

“That's... That's not natural.”

He just stood there holding it, waiting. “Are you getting your shoes or what?”

***

Malroth led her through the monotonous grey corridors and empty rooms quickly, apparently knowing exactly where he was headed. It did not take them long before their surroundings began to change and become more interesting.

“This must be a kitchen,” Kestrel remarked as they passed through a large chamber with several hearths and a whole bunch of magitech she could not wait to check out. That over there was probably an oven of some kind, not functional right now, but judging by those pipes she could—

“Come on, hurry up!” Malroth said impatiently from the doorway. “This stuff is really boring compared to what I want to show you!”

Kestrel's hands were itching to start tinkering with her new discoveries, but Malroth was so eager to keep moving he seemed like he might burst if she wasted another second. She kept moving for his sake, albeit reluctantly. Knowing him, he probably wanted to show her a dead rat or something. He was _very _excited, so he possibly even had a stick to prod it with.

The next room that stopped her in her tracks was not a room but a courtyard. Amazed to suddenly find herself under an open sky, she looked around at the overgrown thicket of brambles and thorns at its centre. Ignoring Malroth's loud objections, she walked around the outer pathways, still relatively clear, wondering what this place might have been used for once. Her foot kicked against something hard. Curious, she dropped to her knees and brushed the dirt aside to reveal a metal pipe.

“An irrigation pipe,” she breathed, following it a little further until it went too deep into the bramble thicket. “I think... I think people used to grow crops here! Ooh, I bet I could restore this. There's a big control box over there. If I take a quick look, I'm sure I can figure out where the water connection—“

“Kestrel, _please_,” Malroth all but whined.

“Right, yes. You're right. I'll... I'll come back to this.”

And she would—even if it meant sneaking back while everybody else was asleep.

She was already crafting meticulous blueprints in her head when Malroth stopped her at the doorway at the other end of the courtyard.

“This next room is a bit unpleasant. But don't be scared, alright? We'll be fine if we run.”

Kestrel was alarmed but nodded slowly.

“Ready?”

She breathed in and nodded again. Malroth took off at a quick jog and she followed, steeling herself for whatever was about to come.

And yet she found herself woefully underprepared—the space they entered was not at all what she had expected. Looking around, she began to slow after just a few steps, mouth agape. Malroth made it to the other end of the hall and stopped in the doorway, spinning around to check on her.

“Kestrel! What are you doing?!”

She had stopped near the centre, a warm contented feeling spreading through her as she gazed up at the large statue of Rubiss. The Goddess was surrounded by a tangled wreath of roses. Clear water spilled from her cupped hands and pooled at her feet, forming a graceful stream that gently loped through the hall and ended in a large pond. The water's surface glittered and sparkled. Waterlilies blossomed everywhere. Kestrel had to rub her eyes to make sure they were not deceiving her when she saw a dragonfly flit between the flowers. This whole place was an indoor garden! There were plants here that she had only ever heard described in stories—the natural world looked very different after two centuries of darkness.

She turned around and smiled at Malroth. “This place is beautiful!”

He seemed determined not to budge from his position in the doorway, so she relented and came to him. “What's wrong? You look pale.”

“I don't know how you can stand it in there,” he said testily, moving further away from the hall. “The moment I step foot in there I start to feel...not good.”

With a frown Kestrel looked over her shoulder back at the garden. Her eyes came to rest on the statue of the Goddess. “Oh...” she said quietly, realisation hitting her. Malroth was one of Hargon's creatures. While she had felt warmth and peace in the Goddess's presence, Malroth probably felt something closer to pain.

“This place probably isn't, erm, a good fit for you. Don't worry about it. We can find a way around on the way back.”

He sighed deeply. “It's because I'm not a Builder like you, isn't it?”

“Something...like that.”

“Then I suppose it's a good thing I'm going learn to be one, too.”

Kestrel managed a small nod, then quickly changed the topic. “Well, at least that's our drinking water problem solved.”

She gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and they continued on their way.

***

Kestrel was not disappointed by Malroth's discovery. They found themselves in yet another cavernous hall which, at a first glance, looked barren save for several round platforms on the floor and a curious pillar at its centre. Yet one look above revealed a ceiling bristling with magitech—curious machinery, wires, pipes, gears and glass spheres filled with liquid weaving in and out of each other in a complex, symbiotic dance of technology. Kestrel brought her hands to her face and suppressed a squeal. She had to all but stop herself from jumping on the spot with excitement. During all her years of studying with the underground school she never, in her wildest dreams, could ever have pictured herself in a place such as this.

Her eyes were drawn to the short pillar at the centre of the room next. A single shaft of light fell from the ceiling to illuminate it. Ordinarily she would have been more intrigued by the technology behind the strange illumination, but instead she felt herself oddly drawn towards the pillar. As she approached it, she saw that a book lay atop it. Ever so gingerly she reached out and ran her fingertips across the cover. Not a spec of dust. No title. Carefully she opened the book and began to flick through the pages, slowly at first, then with increasing speed, her breath catching in her throat.

“What is it?” Malroth asked, leaning over her shoulder. Kestrel laughed in response, almost hysterically. Her eyes were wide as she continued to leaf through the book's pages.

“Uh, Kestrel?”

“Oh, Malroth! It's wonderful! It's—It's like a...a user manual! A guide to the temple and everything in it!” She quickly wiped her eyes to stop stray tears from staining the paper, still laughing. “Sorry, I'm a little overwhelmed. There is so much technology and magic in here I've never even seen before! I barely understand any of this, but I'm sure with time I could—“

There was a sudden loud crash behind them. They both whirled around, Kestrel picking up the book and clutching it to her chest. A large piece of machinery had fallen to the ground, dislodged by a dark shape hanging from the ceiling, squirming between the pipes and machinery. More metal began to rain down around them. Large wings unfurled from the quivering shape, and Malroth was hit by a familiar aura. Kestrel recognised it as well.

“Demon!” she gasped, backing away. With a loud thud that swirled dust up into the air, the creature landed. It was shockingly huge, its humanoid, muscular body towering over them. Two wickedly sharp horns curled back from its bull-like head. It kicked the ground with its cloven foot and lowered its horned head.

“Kestrel, take cover behind the pillar,” Malroth said darkly, widening his stance. She did not need telling twice, swiftly rounding the stone pillar and crouching down behind it. It did not provide much cover, but there was nothing else to hide behind. She stuffed the book down her shirt and started tracing glyphs in a spell circle on the floor around her.

The demon let out a mighty bellow and charged. Malroth braced himself and caught its horns between his hands, grunting with the effort. He skidded backwards across the floor, his back slamming into the pillar. Shaking itself free from his grasp, the demon swiped at him with a large fist but hit nothing but thin air as Malroth jumped out of reach. He rounded the demon and quickly picked up a large metal rod that had been cast down from the ceiling. The creature spun around, and he smacked it right across the face with his makeshift weapon. It staggered away backwards, snorting angrily.

“How do you like that, you stupid bovine!” Malroth yelled, gripping the rod tightly as he took a running start at the demon. It swiped at him again and he jumped over the attack, realising too late that it was a feint for the creature's tail—it whipped around and caught him in the stomach. He was thrown across the room and crashed into the ground with force, rolling over several times before coming to a halt.

“_No no no no,_” Kestrel whimpered quietly, glancing up from behind the pillar to see Malroth lying facedown on the floor. Her spell circle was still several glyphs away from completion, sweat beading on her face as she concentrated on drawing magic out of her body. “Come on, come _on_, hurry _up,_” she muttered under her breath as the demon advanced on Malroth. It reached out a clawed hand and grabbed him by the arm, lifting him above its head. He was starting to come to, but not fast enough. He was about to be smashed to the ground and have every last bone in his body broken.

Panting heavily, Kestrel wrung the last glyph from herself and forced it into its place in the pattern. The spell circle's lines erupted into bright light. Kestrel rose to her feet and raised her hands, fingers outstretched, drawing the light from the ground and to her fingertips. She stepped out from behind the pillar, flinging a fistful of charged light. It arced through the air like a bolt of lightning, striking the demon square in the back. Howling, it dropped its prey and spun around. Malroth landed on his feet, stumbled and caught his footing. The demon bore down on Kestrel angrily. She flung her second handful of light, hitting it in the stomach. It screamed in agony and quickened its pace to a sprint, lowering its horned head. Kestrel was all out of magic. Her instincts screamed at her to dodge but she was frozen to the spot with sheer panic.

Suddenly the demon let out another earsplitting scream. It took a few more clumsy steps, swaying dangerously, then seemed to trip over its own hooves and crumbled to the floor in a large heap, sliding across the tiles to come to a stop no more than a few inches away from her feet. Malroth was standing atop its back, his hands around the metal rod buried deep between the creature's ribs.

They both locked eyes, breathing heavily.

“Not bad,” he said after a moment, wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve.

“S-Same to you,” she replied, shuffling out of the way as a pool of blood began to spread around the demon. She was not sure whether she wanted to faint or laugh hysterically.

“A-Are you alright? You took a pretty bad hit,” she said, her voice shaky with adrenaline.

“I'm fine,” he said, trying to draw the metal rod from the carcass. It was making a disgusting squelching sound. He gave up after a moment of trying and failing to dislodge it and jumped to the ground. “It takes a lot more than that to do me any real harm. Is your book alright?”

She nodded and carefully drew it out from underneath her shirt. It was fortunately completely unscathed. She sighed.

“I didn't expect demons to find us here so quickly. I thought being in Rubiss' temple would offer us at least some protection.”

“It didn't find us. It's been here a very long time, sleeping and waiting,” Malroth said with a shake of his head. “I can tell.”

Kestrel did not dare ask how he could tell—right now she preferred not to know. “Then Hargon must've left it here after he destroyed the Sphere of Light, in case anyone ever stumbled across this place.”

They both stared at the carcass in silence, lost in thought. After a minute or so Malroth gave it a hard kick and announced, “Maybe we can eat it.”

“Malroth, no.”

“It would solve our low supply problem.”

“We are not eating _demon_.”

“It's basically just cow. We could slice it into juicy steaks and—“

“I'm going to be sick,” Kestrel muttered. “Cut it out!”

“—season it with some—“

She covered her ears and walked away, but Malroth only raised his voice and followed her. They returned to their rooms laughing.

\- END CHAPTER III -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the new chapter, folks!  
As always, reading comments lets me know I'm not just shouting into the void, so please sound off in the comments if you're enjoying the story so far. Thanks! ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

Kestrel walked into her workshop, her arms piled so high with materials she could barely see over them. It was little more than a room with a large metal table and piles of magitech scraps she had gathered from around the temple, but it did the job for now. Malroth was sitting in the middle of the floor, obstructing her path.

“What are you doing?” she asked wearily, carefully picking her way across the various bits and pieces he had strewn out. Like her he was experiencing a similar struggle with an abundance of materials, though his were spread out on the ground around him.

“Building...” he muttered, waiting for her loud objections to start. When none came, he glanced up from his circle of mayhem. Kestrel was fussing with a large scrap of metal that was teetering precariously on top of the pile in her arms. He carefully studied her drawn face and the dark circles the size of dinner plates under her eyes.

“You look tired. When was the last time you slept?”

His question earned him little more than a grumbled response. She dumped her findings into one of the piles on the floor and got to work. Malroth rolled his eyes and pushed himself to his feet to help. Trying to communicate with her while she was this engrossed in her work was frustrating and for the most part pointless—he might as well have been talking to a sleepwalker.

The last few days had been hectic. Ever since finding the platforms, Kestrel had been running the group ragged. She had spent the past twenty-four hours wholly absorbed in her work, barely pausing to eat or rest, fiddling around with the broken magitech in the great hall and practically devouring the pages of that new book of hers, the _Builder's Tome_. There was a lot at stake, and they all knew it: they were down to their last few morsels of food and running out of time. Fortunately they had a plan—according to the pages in the tome, Kestrel had discovered a way off this island, and it lay with the circular platforms in the great hall. If she could restore them, she would open teleportals to other parts of Alefgard and a way off this island. So now she was working day and night to repair at least one of them. Unfortunately for everyone involved, there was little assistance either Malroth nor Lulu could offer other than running around gathering every scrap of metal they could find, and the full weight of the burden lay squarely on her shoulders.

Malroth held a large metal sheet in place while Kestrel attempted to hammer off the part she needed.

“So, what have you been Building?” she suddenly asked between hammer blows, a sly smile creeping onto her lips. “Is it going to catch fire also?”

“You're mocking me,” Malroth said darkly, though secretly pleased to see her emerge from her work cocoon for a brief moment. “It really wasn't that funny—I wish you would let it go.”

Convinced he had understood the basics of Building after watching her make things all day, he had made a huge show of trying his hand at it in front of everyone—and failed spectacularly. According to Kestrel it was the worst attempt she had ever witnessed. The small explosion and ensuing fire should have been physically impossible.

She chuckled. “Don't worry, I'll give you a proper introduction once we get past our current crisis. In the meantime, destruction seems to be more your thing, so I made you something.”

She paused to wipe the sweat off her forehead, then reached around the table to present him with her latest creation. Malroth's eyes widened with surprise as she passed him the large, heavy mace she had crafted.

“What is this?” he breathed excitedly, easily holding it with one hand whereas Kestrel had required two. It was solid metal and covered with vicious spikes.

“Your new weapon.” She smiled. “You've been keeping us safe, so I figured you could use something to help you with that. All I really did was cobble some bits and pieces together. I wanted to infuse it with magic, but I just don't have the right tools or time—“

He cut her off with a wave of his hand and gave the mace a wide swing. His eyes lit up as he pictured the amount of damage he would be able to inflict with this.

“Kestrel... Thank you. This is the best present anyone has ever given me!” He swung it again. “Or so I think, anyway.”

She laughed and opened her mouth to speak, but faltered as the deeper meaning behind his statement began to sink in. He had lost his memories. Of course. She had already known this—he had told her so on the beach their very first night—but in the turmoil of what had followed she had completely forgotten. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably, a sense of unease spreading through her as she remembered Rubiss's “gift” and considered the implications. She could venture an educated guess as to what had become of his missing memories... But she did not feel quite ready yet to examine _that_ theory too closely, nor the guilt that would surely come riding in on its coattails.

“Malroth, about your memories... Do you remember anything at all?” she asked as casually as she could, resuming her hammering.

“Sort of,” he said with a shrug. “I was on a ship. And I think I was on my way somewhere... I was going to meet someone, maybe? It's incredibly vague. But if I stay with you I'm sure I'll remember eventually, especially if we start travelling around Alefgard, right?”

She nodded slowly.

As Kestrel watched Malroth swing his new weapon around with an uncharacteristic amount of abandon, she began to feel a little lighter.

A lot had happened in the past day or two. She had already learned so much from the pages of the Builder's Tome: the layout of these lower floors of the temple, the purpose of some of the unknown magitech and how to restart some of the less complex types, and a few new spells that—if mastered—would be an incredible asset. But, while all this was more exciting than she could ever have dreamed, it was also terrifying and exhausting. It had left her feeling drained and isolated at times—so much depended on her right now, and she was not certain if she was ready for it.

Everything she knew about Building and magitech had been stretched to its utmost limit attempting the task of repairing the teleportals. Her head felt like it had taken a thorough beating over the past day. She had spent hours scribbling mathematical equations on the floor, flipping through the book's pages, and reverse-engineering one of the more broken teleportals to figure out what made it tick. It had been an ugly process at times, involving lots of frustration and even some private tears while nobody else was looking, but she knew she had not yet reached the hard limit of what her brain was capable of—she just lacked vital knowledge and experience. She was determined to view this as a challenge she could overcome. The other teleportals and indeed much of the magitech in the temple were beyond her reach, but not for long. She would learn and grow until she was worthy of them. She had to—everyone was depending on her.

***

“And you're certain this will work?” Lulu asked dubiously, eyebrows raised. She was watching Kestrel crawl across the raised platform on her stomach, eyes level with the ground as she patted the metal surface with her hands.

“Shhh!” the Builder said sternly, silencing Lulu for the umpteenth time. They were in the same cavernous hall where she and Malroth had fought the demon, though its corpse was gone after he had dragged it out of the temple. All that now remained was a ceiling bristling with magitech and a long row of circular platforms.

“You know you look ridiculous, right?” Lulu grumbled. She sighed heavily and joined her friend on the floor, patting the ground for some invisible switch or cable or whatever else Kestrel was looking for this time.

“According to the blueprint in the Builder's Tome there should be a latch here somewhere,” Kestrel said distractedly, inwardly cursing the flawless workmanship on the metal construction. They continued to pat the floor in silence until, after some time, Lulu's fingers latched onto a tiny opening in the ground. “I think I found it!”

Kestrel crawled over and carefully opened the hatch. Delicately she fished a slender cable from beneath the protective plate and performed several quick movements with her hands that Lulu could not quite follow.

“That should do it...” she muttered, placing the cable back into the hatch and shutting the lid. As they stood brushing the dirt from their clothes, they both looked at the large silvery circle at the centre of the platform. It was dark now, but if all went according to plan it would light up and open a gateway to another part of Alefgard.

She turned to Lulu. “Are you sure you want to stay behind? All alone?”

“Oh please, spare me the dramatics,” the redhead said with a toss of her hair. “With all the safeguards you've been putting up? You even reprogrammed the mechanical dogs! Rubiss knows how you found the time, but I'll be fine. In fact, I'll be much safer than wherever it is you're going.”

Kestrel laughed. Well, she did have a point. They had no idea where the teleportal would take them; the book had not disclosed those details to them. Perhaps the names had once been on the metal plates at the base of the platforms. Something had been scratched out there, but whether to protect or deter was unclear.

“Just promise me you'll bring me back a new set of clothes and something to eat. I can't stand to live in these conditions a day longer.”

“I would be honoured to put you out of your misery—permanently,” Malroth interrupted gravely, appearing behind them. Lulu eyed him shrewdly, taking in the large mace on his back and shooting Kestrel a look of disapproval.

“Oh good, you armed the demon spawn,” she said dryly.

To Kestrel's unending relief, the teleportal started up flawlessly the moment she switched on the connection to the power source. Despite her fatigue she did an excited little victory bounce, while the others did not seem all that surprised. She was flattered by their confidence in her ability, but put it down largely to ignorance. They would probably never fully understand the amount of blood, sweat and tears that had gone into restoring this piece of machinery.

The silvery circle at the centre of the platform began to glow with a blue light which moved and swirled towards the middle like a whirlpool. It was exactly as the Builder's Tome had described it.

“Ready?” she asked Malroth. He nodded and together they stepped into the circle of light.

***

Kestrel opened her eyes and found herself standing on another platform in a dark room. Malroth was next to her, blinking. She felt ice cold, like she'd just plunged into a frozen lake. With a shudder she reached up and rubbed her arms.

Malroth exhaled sharply next to her. “Kestrel,” he murmured in a low voice, like a warning.

Slowly her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she saw the cause of his alarm—a young woman, maybe in her late teens or so, was crouched at the base of the platform, staring at them open-mouthed. Before the Builder could react, she darted forward suddenly, surprising everyone with her speed.

“Oh, thank Rubiss!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around a startled Kestrel in a vice-like grip. “I knew my prayers would be answered!”

Kestrel let out a little yelp and Malroth grabbed the interloper angrily.

“Get off of her!” he demanded, peeling her away from the Builder. He held her up by the scruff of her neck, scowling. She was a waifish little thing in a pair of grubby overalls, her brown hair a messy bird's nest. Her glasses had slipped off her face and were teetering on the edge of her nose. She looked into Malroth's eyes, registered the red glow and let out an ear-piercing shriek.

“Noooooo! Demon!” she wailed.

“Malroth, put her down!”

He grimaced, holding her at arm's length while she continued to scream at the top of her lungs. “Are you sure I shouldn't slap some sense into her first?”

Kestrel sternly motioned for him to put her down and he reluctantly placed her on her feet. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing.

“Please, mister demon sir! I wasn't trying to summon Rubiss's servants, I swear! I was just looking around when the glowy thing activated all on its own! I'm—_hic—_sorry!”

Malroth looked at Kestrel helplessly. She reached out a gentle hand and rubbed the girl's back.

“Shh, there there, it's alright! We're not demons! I know my friend looks like one, but I promise he's harmless.” She really should have anticipated this sort of thing happening. It was likely to become an ongoing problem with him in tow.

Malroth snorted at being described as harmless, but the girl calmed a little and peeked out between her hands, still sniffling.

“So you're not Hargon's emissaries, come to punish me for trying to fix the magitech?”

“No, we're... Magitech?” Kestrel thought for a second, considering the girl's words. They sounded promising. “We're with the Order,” she said carefully. If she was a supporter of the underground schools, she would know what that meant.

“Oh. Well alright then.” She straightened and deftly wiped her eyes with her arm. “Sorry about that then.”

Malroth's eyes widened to the point where it looked like they would roll out of his skull, stunned by the woman's sudden turnaround. “You... You were faking!” he said indignantly, clenching his fists. Kestrel quickly stepped between them.

“You said something about fixing magitech? What magitech?”

The woman pushed her glasses back up her nose and raised her hands. “Hang on, hang on. You say you're with the Order, but who are you people and how did you get in here? I had to break several locks to get inside, but you just...pop out of thin air? And with such convenient timing, too. You had me fooled.”

“How do you mean?”

She blushed a little. “Ah. Well... _Ahem_. This is embarrassing, but I was praying to Rubiss at yonder platform right before you dropped out of nowhere, so I thought...”

Understanding began to dawn on Kestrel's face. “Oh.”

“Yeeeaaah. For a second I thought you were, I don't know, angels sent by Rubiss or something... Hence the hugging and... Anyway, when I saw demon-pants over here I knew I was mistaken.” She pointed at Malroth, who glared over Kestrel's shoulder and growled dangerously. The Builder elbowed him into silence.

“Our apologies for dropping in and startling you. I'm a Builder from Cantlin; perhaps I can help with whatever you're dealing with. But I suppose some explanations are in order first...”

The woman, who introduced herself as Rosie, led them through narrow tunnels away from the room with the platform, citing it as unsafe, while Kestrel filled her in on the teleportals. She went easy on the details, not mentioning the Temple of Awakening just yet. They knew too little about Rosie to know whether she could be trusted. They did, however, learn from her that they had teleported to a town called Furrowfield. Kestrel was familiar with it in a textbook sort of way—she knew it was one of the last human strongholds and where most of Cantlin's crops came from. It had become incredibly hard to grow anything since the sun's fall, but Furrowfield benefitted from an impressive remnant of the lost golden era of Buiding: a magnificent, huge contraption, part flora, part technology, and brimming with magic—the Deitree. It cast a protective, nourishing forcefield over Furrowfield and its lands.

However, it transpired that after two centuries of no one performing skilled maintenance on the enormous magitech it had finally succumbed and ceased functioning. Its lights had extinguished and the gentle, magic-rich breeze that emitted from its boughs had dispersed. Furrowfield lay fallow.

“The Children of Hargon will not let us perform repairs on the Deitree, as it goes against the word of law,” Rosie said angrily. “Some of us even suspect they deliberately sabotaged the Deitree. Though why now, when they let us continue to benefit from it for so long, is anyone's guess.”

Rosie explained that Furrowfield, with neither walls nor Deitree to protect them, stood defenceless in the face of nightly demon raids. And to make matters worse, an ill wind had begun to sweep over their lands, bringing with them a parasite that spoiled their crops: the spoilspores. Furrowfield stood at the brink of famine and destruction.

Rosie regarded Kestrel with sad eyes, the pain of betrayal on her face. “So you're a Builder from Cantlin? We sent secret word to the Order in Cantlin over a month ago, hoping they would send Builders to aid us. But our messenger never returned... Now you're here, alone and late. So many have died already... The demons, the riots in the streets... Hargon's minions are putting everyone to the blade who dares call for organised rebuilding efforts. They expect us to just starve in silence while demons stalk our city.”

“Rosie... I'm sorry. The Order in Cantlin is no more.” Kestrel lowered her head. “We were destroyed.”

Rosie stopped dead in her tracks. There was more, but Kestrel did not have the heart to tell her the full story: she knew what had become of the messenger. He had been caught and either tortured or bribed into luring the Cantlin representatives of the Order into a trap. The locations of the underground schools had been extracted from them by grisly means, and consequently raided. The dead bodies of both the Order and the messenger had been paraded through the streets to the sounds of music and celebration. It was the last Kestrel had seen of her hometown before she was loaded onto the slave ship.

The resistance of an entire city wiped out because of one messenger...

But Rosie did not need to bear the burden of this knowledge. Exhaling slowly, she raised her eyes—and caught Malroth watching her, an inscrutable expression on his face. She had shared very little about her origins with him; who knew what was going through his head right now.

Rosie was stricken. “But then... How...? Why...?” She leaned against the wall, her hands clenched. “If you're not here to help us...”

“Kestrel will fix the Deitree,” Malroth announced suddenly. They both spun around to stare at him.

“What?”

“Kestrel will fix it. She's a Builder, and she's here now. So what's the problem?”

“K-Kestrel?”

The Builder shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, feeling the weight on her shoulders increase tenfold.

“I'm only one person, but... I will try.”

“And in return,” Malroth said, “you will help us with our problem.”

Rosie raised a confused eyebrow, but nodded slowly.

“Perfect. Now, I realise this Deitree thing or whatever will probably be closely guarded, but you'll have to take us there if Kestrel is to work her craft. I'll cut us a path if need be,” he said, brandishing his mace.

For the first time since meeting them, Rosie cracked a smile. “Well, actually, that shouldn't be too hard.” She tapped her fist against the wall.

“Because we're already inside it.”

\- END CHAPTER IV -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, another tricky chapter! I'm not fully happy with this one, but if I don't stop editing it now, I never will. Maybe I'll come back for a rewrite one day... But for now, it's not fair to keep y'all waiting for so long. ^^  
The good news is that I have finally fit in all the "intro" scenes I wanted to. Yay! Less trying to cram everything in from now on, haha.
> 
> A wee note on Rosie's hair colour:  
When thinking about what natural hair colour to give her, I considered that her turquoise hair in-game is very bright, so I settled on a light hair colour, in this case light brown. Blonde was an alternative, but it just didn't seem to suit her very well in my opinion. :)


End file.
